An exciting day for many American expats, with the presidential elections in the United States. In Geldrop on Tuesday, a group of American women came together to discuss current affairs while enjoying a drink and a bite to eat. “The elections are a sensitive subject”.
You could almost forget that it is election day, because the women would rather discuss the clothing choices of Hollywood stars than the battle between presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
“This is not so strange for Americans”, Sarah Barnes explains. “It is a sensitive subject for some Americans. Many Americans dare not talk about it with family or friends because it can cause division”.
Trump
Yet everyone has a clear opinion and the women know without any doubt who they are going to vote for. “I am going to vote for Donald Trump”, Sarah says with a big laugh. “My two biggest reasons for this are the economy and the migrant problem that we have in America”.
She was not a fan of him at first and did not vote for him in 2016 either. “But his presidency went very well, which changed my opinion”.
However, the other women disagree with Sarah and they have a clear reason for this. “Trump is not fit to be in the White House. He is a bully who is easy to manipulate”, Linda Gebhard says.
“He only tells stories and drives people apart. If you just see how people in Europe react and say to each other: ‘Oh my gosh, Trump might become president’. Trump is not only bad for the United States but for the whole world”, Donna Luehrmann adds.
Change
Despite their differences in politics, they agree on one thing above all: the current electoral system needs to change. Sarah: “The American media know very well how the American people feel and how they can use this feeling to get more attention and make money”.
According to Sarah, the media blow everything up and make everything bigger than it is. “Media create stories that are not true and confuse people and make them angry. I think that an election system with more than two parties, like in the Netherlands, would be very good for the United States. The American system helps the media to polarise”.
Source: Studio040
Translated by: Bob
